WSU musicians, visuals combine for anti-war message in concert

When Michael Hanawalt pondered what selection to produce for Wichita State University’s biennial concert that combined its choirs and symphony orchestra, headlines prompted him to make a statement.

“I had been struck by the string of ‘lone wolf’ terrorist attacks that had happened” last summer, Hanawalt recalled. “It seemed like there was quite a succession leading up to last summer.”

He found the artistic answer in “The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace,” a 1999 composition by Welsh composer Karl Jenkins that debuted in 2000 in London.

“What struck me about it was you had several movements that were a part of the traditional Roman Catholic Mass, but you also had a Muslim call to prayer in Arabic,” said Hanawalt, in his fifth year as director of choral activities at Wichita State. “You had that very strong juxtaposition between the Christian faith and Muslim faith, wrapped up in this anti-war message.”

Hanawalt calls “Armed Man,” which also includes the poetry of Rudyard Kipling, Alfred Lord Tennyson and others, a 21st-century answer to Benjamin Britten’s “War Requiem.” Included in the eclectic piece are African-style drumming, Renaissance polyphony and movements that Hanawalt compares to modern cinematic composition.

“It just seemed this was the exact right thing for the times,” Hanawalt said. “There was this message out there that should exist of ‘Can’t we talk about this? Isn’t there some dialogue where we can begin to break down those barriers that obviously exist?’ ”

It will be performed Thursday evening at Miller Concert Hall on the Wichita State campus by the WSU Concert Chorale, a capella choir and symphony orchestra.

Although the topics are heavy, Hanawalt said the music is accessible.

“I was very struck by the immediacy of the music,” he said of hearing it for the first time. “This is a concert that almost anyone could go to and instantly get what the music’s about.”

To reinforce the message, Hanawalt has added – as have numerous other performances of the work since 2007 – a silent movie called “The Armed Man Film” that will be shown during the performance.

“The music combined with those visuals make for a really powerful, almost visceral reaction to these kinds of ideas and themes,” he said.

Hanawalt said he hoped “The Armed Man” proves contemplative for its audience.

“My hope is that this can be a vehicle for which people think about how those barriers can be broken down, how people can talk to one another,” he said. “Ideas have to start somewhere.”

Hanawalt, who turns 40 this year, said he and his student performers have a different perspective on the piece since their generation has not had to go to war as those from previous eras have.

“We’ve never experienced what it means to completely sacrifice oneself for a duty to one’s country,” he said. “That idea is so foreign to us nowadays.”

The piece, Hanawalt says, has had an impact on them.

“It’s engendered a bit of intellectual inquiry on their part,” he said. “Several of them say they’ve been moved by the process.”

This story was originally published April 14, 2017 at 4:40 PM with the headline "WSU musicians, visuals combine for anti-war message in concert."